SELECTION OF AN "OPTIMUM" TIME TO HARVEST LOWBUSH BLUEBERRY FRUIT

1972 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 701-705
Author(s):  
L. E. AALDERS ◽  
R. STARK ◽  
I. V. HALL ◽  
L. P. JACKSON ◽  
B. G. PENNEY ◽  
...  

A field study at Nappan, Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, was conducted over a 3-year period, 1969–71, to determine the optimum date of harvest for the lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.). For each of the 3 years, from 70 to 80% of the fruits were ripe by August 10 and by August 30 more than 90% were ripe. The data obtained suggest that the total yield by number of ripe fruit would not appreciably be reduced, particularly in years with above-normal heat units, by advancing the season approximately 5 days earlier than has normally been done. Earlier picked fruit has tougher skin that would result in a greater number of whole fruits in processed products. Raking early would increase the percentage of green fruit and therefore increase cleaning costs slightly. Data were also collected during the years 1953–71 at Avondale, Newfoundland. These show a great variation between years in the maturity date of the fruit, but 80% are usually ripe in that province by mid-September.

1991 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 1263-1266 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. R. Sanderson ◽  
J. A. Cutcliffe

The effect of sawdust mulch applied at 0-, 5- and 10-cm depths on yield of select clones of lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) was studied in Prince Edward Island for three consecutive cropping cycles from 1985 to 1989. Sawdust applied post-plant, as a mulch, at a depth of 5 cm increased the total yield of the first three harvests by approximately 30% compared to the 0-cm mulch. Mean berry weight was also increased where sawdust was applied. There was not significant difference in yield between the 0- and 10-cm sawdust application treatments. The 10-cm sawdust mulch reduced plant survival by 23% compared with the check. Key words: Lowbush blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium Ait., select clone, sawdust mulch, yield


2003 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. G. Penney ◽  
K. B. McRae ◽  
G. A. Bishop

Most commercial blueberry growers follow a 2-yr pruning cycle because second-crop yield in a 3-yr cycle is usually too low for an economical harvest. Research was conducted to determine the extent to which second-crop production could be increased by applying fertilizer in the second-crop year. Treatments, consisting of factorial combinations of N (0, 60 kg ha-1), P (0, 26 kg ha-1), and K (0, 50 kg ha-1), were studied over two 3-yr burn-pruning cycles on a natural lowbush blueberry stand. Treatments were applied prior to, or shortly after, flower buds started to swell in the spring of the second-crop year. Nitrogen increased ripe fruit yield by 65% (3410 vs. 2070 kg ha-1) when compared with plots not previously fertilized with N, and by 43% (3410 vs. 2380 kg ha-1) when compared with plots previously fertilized with N. These results indicate that N might make the second crop economical to harvest. Phosphorus did not significantly affect yield, but K applied in combination with N in the second-crop year negatively affected production and Mg uptake. The increase in yield by N was due to more ripe berries resulting from a higher total (ripe + unripe) number of berries and hastened maturity that increased the percentage of ripe fruit. Reduced fruit abortion is suspected to be the reason for higher berry numbers. In contrast, the negative response to K applications with N was due to reduced total berry numbers. Key words: NK interaction, N × K interaction, potassium, nutrition, fertility, fruit abortion


1975 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lewis E. Aalders ◽  
Ivan V. Hall

Two diallels, one involving 5 parents and a second involving 8 parents were evaluated for 3 years each. In the 5-parent diallel, date of harvest, yield of ripe fruit, weight per berry, and area covered by one plant were evaluated. Of these, weight per berry had by far the greatest genetic and additive components of variation whereas these components for yield were very low. In the 8-parent diallel, the same variables were evaluated with the addition of berry color, plant vigor and log number of berries. Weight per berry and berry color had large genetic and additive components whereas yield of ripe fruit, plant vigor and log number of berries had large environmental components of variation.


2000 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. G. Penney ◽  
K. B. Mcrae

Past research has shown that fertilizer applied in the vegetative year can increase yield, but not always. Fertilizer applied in the crop year without weed control also has been shown to increase yield. The present study, conducted on a natural lowbush blueberry stand for 8 yr, compared the effects of factorial combinations of two rates each of N (0, 60), P (0, 26), and K (0, 50 kg ha−1) applied either in the vegetative or crop year, with or without weed control. Greatest production was obtained with weed control, which increased ripe fruit yield by 247% over that from plots without weed control. Nitrogen alone or P and K with N also increased yield, but only when applied in the crop year to weed-controlled plots. Phosphorous or K alone was of little benefit. Nitrogen increased ripe fruit yield from 3910 (unfertilized plots with weed control) to 4440 kg ha−1 and in combination with P and K to 5520 kg ha−1. Yield increases from weed control and N were due to increased berry weight and hastened maturity, but weed control also increased total berry number. The increase by P and K was due to an increase in total and ripe berry numbers. Nitrogen applied in the vegetative year, although producing more flower buds m−2 than when applied in the crop year, gave lower yields. Fruit abortion, due to insufficient nutrients in the crop year, particularly N, is suspected to be the reason for the reduced yield. Key words: Lowbush blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium, yield flower buds, weed control, fertilizer, herbicide


1977 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 1217-1218
Author(s):  
IVAN V. HALL ◽  
LEWIS E. AALDERS ◽  
LLOYD P. JACKSON

Chignecto lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) is a selection from a native stand of lowbush blueberries in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia. It is somewhat less productive than Augusta and Brunswick, but very easy to propagate and grows more vigorously than the two previously named cultivars.


1961 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. W. Chipman

Black plastic and sawdust mulches were applied to ridged and flat rows in a 2-year (1956–1957) study of their effect on tomato culture. Records were taken of soil temperature and moisture levels, ripe fruit to August 31, and total crop (ripe and green fruit).The highest early yield was obtained from the unmulched and sawdust plots but the heaviest total yield came from the black plastic plots. Highest soil temperature and lowest moisture readings were recorded under the black plastic, and lowest so 1 temperature and highest moisture under the sawdust.The earliest ripe fruits came from the flat rows, but the total crop was significantly higher on the ridge rows. There was no significant interaction for mulches and row type.


HortScience ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 882b-882
Author(s):  
Charles E. Johnson ◽  
Alfred F. Trappey ◽  
Kristi Whitley

The common fig is a popular backyard fruit tree and grown in small orchards throughout the coastal regions of the southeastern U.S. Two commonly grown cultivars in coastal areas have distinct fruiting patterns which would be of interest to processors and marketers of summertime fruit. A study was conducted over a 5-year period to determine the fruiting characteristics of `Celeste' and `LSU Purple' figs. The 9-year-old orchard used for the study is located in St. Gabriel, LA. Annual results over a 5-year period indicated a longer and more productive fruit-bearing season for `LSU Purple' than `Celeste'. The fruit-bearing cycle for `LSU Purple' is about 4 weeks longer than is for `Celeste'. `Celeste' and `LSU Purple' exhibited different fruiting patterns over a 5-year period. `Celeste' consistently produced ripe fruit about one week before `LSU Purple' over the 5-year period. `Celeste' produced 85% of its total yield in a 2-week period with one main crop per year. However, `LSU Purple' produced two and sometimes three distinct crops each year. `LSU Purple' produced a greater total yield compared to `Celeste' with 6.45 kg/tree compared to 4.57 kg for `Celeste' during the 5-year evaluation. Additionally, `LSU Purple' retained foliage longer each year than `Celeste'; a characteristic perhaps due to a higher level of resistance to fig leaf rust. In areas where `LSU Purple' is adapted, this selection of fig may offer a more productive alternative to traditional cultivars planted.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 281-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
David F. Bridges ◽  
Anna Breard ◽  
Alison Lacombe ◽  
Don C. Valentine ◽  
Shravani Tadepalli ◽  
...  

1988 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
LEONARD J. EATON ◽  
DAVID G. PATRIQUIN

Soil ammonium and nitrate in the top 15 cm of soil were monitored after application of ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate to plots at 14 PF (previously fertilized) and 12 NF (never fertilized) lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) stands representing a range of soil types and management histories. Overall, nitrate values in unfertilized and ammonium sulfate plots were higher at PF than at NF sites, suggesting greater nitrification at PF sites. In laboratory incubation studies, nitrification proceeded immediately in soil from a PF site, but only after a 4-wk lag in that from an adjacent NF site. Nitrification rates were low compared to that in a garden soil (pH 6.6). N-Serve inhibited nitrification in both soils. In ammonium nitrate plots, "excess" N values (N values in fertilized plots minus values in unfertilized plots) were higher for PF than for NF sites, suggesting greater immobilization, plant uptake or loss of N at NF sites. There was no evidence, in laboratory studies, of immobilization of added N by soil from either type of site. Rhizome N concentration increased significantly in response to fertilization at an NF site, but not at a PF site. Key words: Blueberry (lowbush), fertilizer and soil nitrogen


Botany ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott N. White ◽  
Nathan S. Boyd ◽  
Rene C. Van Acker ◽  
Clarence J. Swanton

Red sorrel (Rumex acetosella L.) is a ramet-producing herbaceous creeping perennial species commonly found as a weed in commercially managed lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton) fields in Nova Scotia, Canada. Flowering and seed production occur primarily in overwintering ramets of this species, indicating a potential vernalization requirement for flowering. This study was therefore initiated to examine the role of vernalization, photoperiod, and pre-vernalization stimulus on ramet flowering. Red sorrel ramets propagated from creeping roots and seeds collected from established red sorrel populations in lowbush blueberry had an obligate requirement for vernalization to flower. Ramet populations maintained under pre- and post-vernalization photoperiods of 16 h flowered following 12 weeks of vernalization at 4 ± 0.1 °C, whereas those maintained under constant 16, 14, or 8 h photoperiods without vernalization did not flower. Vernalization for 10 weeks maximized, but did not saturate, the flowering response. Pre-vernalization photoperiod affected flowering response, with increased flowering frequency observed in ramet populations exposed to decreasing, rather than constant, photoperiod prior to vernalization. This study represents the first attempt to determine the combined effects of vernalization and photoperiod on red sorrel flowering, and the results provide a benchmark for the future study of flowering and sexual reproduction in this economically important perennial weed species.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document